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Syracuse Crunch more than willing to sacrifice rest for long playoff runs

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Syracuse Crunch forward Richard Panik delivers a dose of playoff pounding to Grand Rapids' Jan Mursak in Game 1 of the Calder Cup Finals on Saturday in the War Memorial.
(Scott Schild | SSchild@syracuse.com)

Grand Rapids, Mich. -- Rolling out of bed on June mornings can be a rude awakening for hockey players who have been battling for jobs and wins since mid-September.

The most effective painkiller, however, is usually the reason they are still going to the rink in the first place.

Their season remains alive deep into the playoffs.

"I can feel it's a long season,'' said Syracuse Crunch forward Ondrej Palat. "But every morning, I feel ready to go. I will feel tired after the season.''

That spirit is carrying Syracuse through the Calder Cup Finals, a series that Grand Rapids leads three games to none.

Whenever the action ends, the players will have enough time to take a sip of ice tea, grab a nap ... and start getting ready for next season.

As hard as it may be to grasp now, the Lightning's training camp opens in roughly 12 weeks.

Although it's a great problem to have, this is the second abbreviated offseason in a row for many of the Crunch players. Several were on the Norfolk team that played into mid-June last year as well.

That's a lot of tread worn off their skates. Give or take, 94 regular-season and playoff games last year and 91 this season.

"It's physical, but it's also mental,'' said Syracuse forward Philip-Michael Devos, who played for the Admirals last season. "But right now, rest is the last thing I want to talk about. There's 28 other teams that would like to be in our situation now.''

Pro hockey players are usually sent into the offseason with a workout plan from their organization. Some have their own trainers to help them as well.

Julien BriseBois, assistant general manager of the Lightning, said a mental vacation before the training begins can be just as important as the subsequent sweat equity.

"More than anything else, just a mental break is huge, in an ideal world, so you can miss it, so when you get back, you are itching to get back,'' he said. "They are finely tuned athletes. That's why they are able to get through all of this. We are hoping they will help us go through playoff stretches at the NHL level. We're hoping that's something they get used to.''

Although routines vary, a down time of a couple of weeks seems ideal.

"After the season, everyone usually takes two or three weeks off,'' Devos said. "We all take time to relax. We're all fatigued at this point.''

Syracuse defenseman J.P. Cote agreed, and he had an interesting timetable for the start of his break.

"Everybody benefits from a long playoff run,'' he said. "Starting next Thursday, three weeks (rest) from then should be enough.''